Grit To Grace

Seven

Victoria. That name was becoming more and more common in her life. Fallyn had hardly heard the name growing up, only knowing she was her great-great grandmother who lived in the time of cowboys. That's what she had been told. Now, it was like she was reliving history seeing her long dead relative here.

"What did you two talk about?" she asked, glancing over at Will for a moment. He still had yet to meet her eyes. Instead, he closed them.

"Nothing much. She told me that what happened in Black Hill wasn't my fault, that she'd missed me and how the whole town searched for me for months. She told me I showed up here for a reason, and encouraged me to keep the memories alive. And she assured me that it's okay to move forward."

"She's right, you know. I know that you're probably feeling lonely, depressed. Trust me, I've been there. But, you need to realize you aren't alone. You have people here you can depend on, someone you probably haven't even met yet." she explained, looking at him fully this time. "It's up to you if you want to try or not."

"It's just... So hard..." he whispered. "I was all that stood in the way of the killer... My disappearance was what allowed the killer to take all those lives."

"But it doesn't make sense why you disappeared. That doesn't sound like you." she shook her head. "I've known you for what, three days? And you've shown me that you're not only loyal, but willing to protect anyone from harm."

"Why do you think I wanted to be Deputy so bad? It's who I am, who I've always been." He shrugged. "But I didn't leave on purpose. I never would've, no matter how bad the case got..."

"So then we find out the reason." Fallyn said, as if it was that simple. "We figure out what brought you here, what brought us together."

He just nodded and got to his feet, holding a hand out to her.

"Yeah... C'mon, I'm sure you're tired and it's pretty cold out here," he muttered. "Let's head back."

Fallyn shook her head and got up. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to retain some kind of warmth. "Yeah, let's go." she turned to head back towards the main path. Now that the adrenaline was gone, she was painfully aware of the fact that she had neglected to put on shoes or a jacket over her thin night dress. Every rock and small twig poked her feet and the cold air sent goosebumps along her arms. He stopped when his longer strides had moved him a bit further ahead of her, and stopped to wait. He watched her pick her way back up the trail and sighed when he noticed her shivering.

"Here, you're gonna catch your death out here, Fallyn." He shrugged off his coat and gently draped it over her shoulders. She looked up at him with wide eyes, then after a moment she slipped her arms into the sleeves and pulled it tighter around herself.

"Thanks. I guess I forgot my jacket. And shoes," she gave a sheepish little smile and looked down. He looked away.

Carry her, he thought. He knew he should, after all she wouldn't even be out here if not for him. But the last thing he wanted was to hurt her with another bad vision. After watching her wince when she stepped on a sharp stone, he made his decision.

"Yeah, that ain't gonna work. Here," he told her, scooping her up into his arms. He held his breath as he lifted her and she shut her eyes. When they weren't whisked back to 1899, he let his breath out with a soft whoosh and relaxed. He made sure he had a good hold on her, then began to walk her back home.

"It's my fault you're out here without them," he explained, as if that somehow answered any and all questions he was sure were tumbling through her head.  "Just relax, I've got you."

Fallyn froze as he picked her up. It was the last thing she expected from him.

"Oh... Um, thanks." she muttered, hoping the darkness would hide her pink cheeks. He was warm, and there was a kind of comfort and reassurance in his tone. His hold was strong; she wasn't afraid he'd drop her. "I wasn't thinking... Warren calls me reckless sometimes."